Fugitive ex-Catalan leader seeks long-distance government

Catalonia’s fugitive former leader has said new technologies would allow him to govern again from Belgium.

Carles Puigdemont spoke to Catalan public radio from Belgium, where he fled to avoid a judicial probe in Spain over secession attempts.

The challenge led Spanish central authorities to disband the Catalan Cabinet and call an election in the north-eastern region. Results granted the separatists a slim parliamentary majority.

People gather outside the Catalonia parliament (AP)

However, with ousted Catalan Cabinet members under investigation, jailed or in Belgium and facing arrest if they return home, the Catalan parliament’s new governing body must decide by the end of January whether to permit Mr Puigdemont’s re-election through a proxy delegate.

Spain’s central government has vowed to impede Mr Puigdemont’s reinstatement by challenging it in courts if necessary.